Bottle handling mechanism



5 Sheets-Sheet l J. WYNNE BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1955 Nov. 20, 1934 N0V 20,- 11934- R. J. WYNNE BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 27, 1953 if f R. J. WYNNE BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Nov. 20, 1934.

Filed sept. 27, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 20, 1934. R, J, WYNNE 1,981,684

BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 NOV- 20, 1934-' R. J. WYNNE 1,981,684

BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 27, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 las Patented Nov. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES BOTTLE HANDLING MECHANISM Robert J. kWynne, Bellwood, Ill., assignor to Irving D. Porter, River Forest, Ill. U

Application September 27, 1933, Serial No. 691,124

4 Claims.

My invention relates. to improvements in bottle handling mechanism, and has for a particular object the provision of mechanism for effecting the discharge of bottles from a bottle washing f machine of the type having a soaking tank, conveyor for conveying bottles through said soaking tank, spraying cleansing means, and means for discharging the bottles from the conveyor after receiving cleansing treatments in the soaking tank and from thev spraying cleansing means.

Different kinds of mechanism have been used, including power actuated rams, for pushing the bottles from their conveying cups, but these have proved unsatisfactory in some particulars such as danger from contamination,'difficulty of adjust-- ment, and danger of damaging bottles. Others have used what might be termed gravity discharge mechanism, but these have provedineffec tive at times because of their failure in ejecting bottles. Others have failed because the bottles have been subjected to a drop of considerable distance, causing breakage and toppling of the bottles. Since these machines are adapted to opcrate at comparatively high speed, and are usually cared for by one attendant, any one of the above difficulties causes unsatisfactory operation.

An object of my invention is the provision of' discharge mechanism which will. eliminate the above mentioned difficulties and discharge the bottles accurately, safely, and without any danger of contamination from discharging rams.

The'di'scharging mechanism' described herein` is part of a machine which is shown and described in my copending applications filed on even date herewith, and entitled respectively Bottle washing and conveying mechanism, given Serial No. 691,122, and Bottle handling mechanism, given Serial No. 691,123.

A better understanding of my invention may L be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevational View of the portion of the type bottle washing machine described. and incorporating my bottle handling mechanism;

Fig. 2 is an end view, partly in section and partly in elevation, taken substantially on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View, taken substantially on the line 3*-3 of Fig. 2;

4 is a View, partly in section and partly in elevation, showingkmy bottle handling mechanism in the opposite stage oi operation from that shown in Fig. 3;

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Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the bottle conveying cups preferably employed in my machine;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a detail View of the ejecting arm and table lowering arm employed in my bottle han dling mechanism;

Fig. 8 is a sectional View, taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2, and illustrates the operating mechanism for the removing conveyor;

Fig. 9 is a detail view, taken substantially on the line 9--9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 1G is a detail View, partly in section and partly in elevation, and taken substantially on the line l-l of Fig. 3; and '79' Fig. ll is a detail view, taken substantially on the line ll-l1 of Fig. 10.

Referring now to the drawings, the main washing machine comprises a -main housing having side walls 21 and 22, and framework gene:- ally indicated at 23. Endless conveyor chains 24 travel on trackways 25 which are mounted on side Walls 2l and 22. Sprockets 26 receive the chains 24, and shafts 27 extend transversely oi the machine rand support sprockets 26. Appropriate bearings are mounted in side walls 2l and 22 for the reception of the ends of shafts 27. Other sprockets are located at the opposite end of the machine from that shown in Fig. 1, but are not shown in this application. A soaking tank 28 is provided at the lower portion of the machine between side walls 2l and 22, and conveyor chains carry bottle cups 29 through the soaking tank during the operation. Cleansing spraying means 30 act on the bottles on the return movement of the conveyor chains.

A motor (not shown) ltransmits power to a.

- gear reduction box 3l supported on transversely extending frame members of frame 23, and shaft 32 extends from gear reduction box 3l and carries sprockets 33 which mesh with chains 34. A main power takeoff shaft 35 has sprockets 36 keyed thereto, and chains 34 drives sprocket 35. A pair of crank arms 3'7 are keyed 'to transversely extending shaft 35, and pins 38 connect longitudinally extending connecting rods 39 to crank arms 37. Pins 40 connect the` opposite ends oi connecting rods 39 to legs 4l of bell cranks 42. Spaced bell cranks 42 are keyed to a transversely extending shaft 43 having its bearings in side Walls 21 and 22, and a pair of arms 44 are keyed to shaft 43. A pair of adjustable conveyor advancing members 45 and 46 are pivotally received by arms 44.

Conveyor advancing members 45 and 46 are provided at their upper ends with chain engaging ends 47 which are adapted to partially embrace rollers 48 of conveyor chains 24. Cam surfaces 49 are provided at 'the ends of conveyor advancing members 45 and 46 for engagement by elevating deflecting plates 50 which are provided with longitudinally extending flanges and are secured to the side walls 21 and 22 off housing 2O by angle brackets 52.

The opposite legs 53 of bell cranks 42 extend forwardly and pivotally receive stub shafts 54 and 55. A feeding conveyor connecting rod 56 is pivotally received by stub shaft 54 and extends forwardly to link 57, and is pivotally connected by pin 58. Link 57 is pivotally received by a transversely extending feeding conveyor shaft 59 which supports feeding conveyor sprockets 60 for cooperation with feeding conveyor chain 6l and feeding conveyor belt 62. A feeding pawl 63 is pivotally received by pin 56 for cooperation with pawl engaging members 64 on the conveyor beit 62. The feeding conveyor may be supported at the forward end of the machine by longitudinally extending attaching plates 65 which are secured to side walls 21 and 22 of housing 22, and by a depending leg 66.

Feeding conveyor connecting rod 56 is formed oi a section 67 which is telcscopically received by a section 68. A pair of oppositelj disposed longitudinal slots 69 in section 68 cooperate with transversely extending pin 7o of section 67, and thus provide lost motion between leg bell crank 42, and link 57.

The downward actuation of bell crank 53 causes the downward movement of connecting rod 56, and thus draws link 57 toward the bot le receiving mechanism of the machine, and causes pawl 63 tov engage pawl engaging members 64 in order to move conveyor belt 62. As the belt 62 is advanced, a series of bottles toward the end of conveyor belt 62, as shown in 4, topple forwardly and impinge upon depending swinging cushions 71 which are hingedly connected to a transversely extending bracket 72 which may be secured to the transversely extending forward plates of removing conveyor unit 73. cushions 71 swing toward the receiving mechanism of the machine and permit the bottles to topple downwardly with their necks foremost into inclined bottle chutes 74 which are arranged longitudinally of the machine and supported by a transversely extending angle bracket 75. The bottles then slide downwardly through depending swinging chutes 76 and enter bottle cups 29. Bottle cups 29 are shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6, and are formed of counterpart sections 77 which extend transversely of the machine and have attaching lugs 76 secured by bolts 79 to L shaped lugs 89 which are secured to the inside links 81 of conveyor chains The side walls of cups 29 are provided with a plurality of depending fingers 82 which extend inwardly toward each other from the outside walls of cups 29, and provide vertical longitudinal slots 93 for the reception of cushioning pins 34. The pins 84 depend through slots 83, as shown particularly in Fig. 4, and cushion the fall of; bottles into cups 29. As legs 52 of bell crank 42 are raised from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 1 the pins 84 are drawn upwardly from slots 63 and permit the bottles to descend to the full depth of bottles 29. At the time the legs move upwardly legs 4l .move downwardly, and arms 44 carrying adjustable conveyor advancing mem, ers 45 and 46 are also forced downwardly so as to cause chain engaging ends 47 to engage the rollers 48 of chains 24 and advance the conveyor chains one step.

Successive actuations of bell crank 42 cause the movement .of the series oi bottles through soaking tank 28 where they receive soaking treatment. During their movement by conveyor chains 24 the bottles are brought fromthe downwardly inclined position shown in Fig. 4 through a horizontal position to an upright positie-n, and during this latter period ride on bottle guides 85 which prevent the bottles from slipping outwardly from the bottle cups. At the opposite end of the machine the bottles are inverted and brought back by the conveyor chains 24 to receive cleansing spraying treatments from cleansing spraying means 30 while still in an inverted position. After receiving these treatments the bottles are brought back toward the receiving end of the machine, while sprockets 26 cause chains 24 to bring the bottles to a partially upright position, at which time the bottles slide part-,ally from cups 29 and drop to bottle guide plate 86.

Bottle guide plate S6 is secured at its upper end and is free at its lower end, and may be adjusted vertically by adjusting screw 87 which passes thro-ugh and is anchored to the transverse wall of housing 20. The free end of plate 36 ends adjacent the upper surface of a transverse roller 88 which is mounted on a transversely eX- tending shaft 89 having spindles 99 which are received by appropriate bearings in roller supporting brackets 91. Brackets 91 are supported by the longitudinally vertically extending ilanges of angle irons 92 and 93. to shaft 89 at a point between the end of roller 88 and supporting bracket 91.

A horizontal transverse bottle lowering table 95 is secured by screws 96 to table supporting base 97. Vertical slots 98 in base 97 receive table 2 supporting posts 99, and posts 99 are secured to base 97 by pins 100 which extend through base 97 and posts 99. Posts 99 are slidably received in vertical slots 191 in transverse supporting tie bar 102. Stop lugs 103 secured to supporting brackets 104, are secured to transversely vertically extending fianges of angle irons 92 and 93 by bolts 105, and serve to limit the upward vertical movement of table supporting base 97. Although the posts 99 are slidably received in slots 101 of tie bar 102, they are frictionally maintained in various positions relative to said tie bar.

A longitudinal threaded bore 106 at each end of tie bar 102 receives a screw plug 107 which presses A sprocket 94 is keyed l' against a compressori spring 199, which in turn I presses upon the enlarged head 109 of friction stop member 110. A restricted opening 111 communicates with vertical slots 191, and a restricted friction head 112 protrudes through opening 111. Friction head 112 contacts with flattened portion 11B on table supporting post 99.

The ends of tie bar 102 provided with spindles 114 which protrude through opposed spaced sliding blocks 115 and 116 which are received in grooves 117 and 118, respectively. Grooves 117 the number of teeth in sprocket 94, the rotation of roller 88 is quite rapid.

The coiled spring 143 takes up any slack in chain le() during any stage of movement. The rotation of roller 88 causes the bottles resting thereon to be shifted from one side of the bottle cups to the other, and aids in loosening them from the cups, and when the conveyor advancing members have advanced the conveyor chains a sufficient distance the bottles are dropped a short distance to table 95 which has been brought to the position indicated in Fig. 3 during the time the conveyor advancing members have been moving the conveyor chains. It can be seen that the vibration and agitaton of the bottles whch is caused by the rotation of roller 88 aids them in dropping to the table. Since the roller is rota'ting quite rapidly, it will cause the bottle to be brought more quickly to the vertical position shown at 180 in Fig. 3.

As the conveyor advancing members 45 and 46 were being raised, the table lowering arms 122 and 123 were being drawn downwardly by bell crank legs 53 so as to clear table 95 of the series of bottles thereon, and as the conveyor advancing members 45 and L16 were lowered, the table lowering arms 122 and 123 were forced upwardly from the position shown in Fig. 4. From Fig. 4. it can be seen that the downward movement of arms 122 and 123 caused table 95 to be lowered until it reached stop 145, and further movement of the arms caused the tie bar 102 to slide downwardly on table supporting 99. When arms 122 and 123 start upwardly to receive a series of bottles from roller 88 the friction stop members 11G will bear against table posts 99 and maintain the spaced relation between table 95 and tie bar 192 until stop lugs 1GB prevent the further upward movement of table supporting base 97. and then tie bar 162 will again slide on posts 99 until it reaches substantially the position shown in Fig. 10 relative to table supporting base 97. This construction causes the table 95 to be brought to bottle receiving position a period of time in advance of the nal part of the movement of conveyor chains 211 by the conveyor advancing members, and thus the table is always in bottle receiving position before a series of bottles is advanced a sufficient distance to become free from the support of roller 8S.

After the bottles have passed over roller 88 and come to a rest on the table 95, table lowering arms 122 and 123 are drawn downwardly, bringing the bottles downwardly out of the cups, and table 95 is brought to stop 145, where the bottles are in position to be shoved forwardly onto the conveyor belt of the removing conveyor. .As before explained, the arms 122 and 123 then continue downwardly, leaving table 95 resting on stop 1115. The continued downward movement causes cam shoes 125 and 126 to be brought in contact with and operate on 127. The movement of shoes 125 and 126 on the cams 127 causes arms 128. transverse shaft 129, and U- shaped bottle ejecting member 132 to move forwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4C. The cross member of the bottle ejecting member 132 pushes the bottles from table 95 onto conveyor belt links 167. When table lowering arms 122 and 123 again start upwardly the returning springs 137 aid cam shoes and 126 in returning arms 123 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3. However, the failure of the cams and returning springs would not cause damage to U-shaped bottle ejecting member 132,

since it is mounted in the pivoted transverse shaft 129, and the forward end of the member 132 will be raised by the table 95 until the table passes upwardly a sufficient distance to clear the member 132. The member 132 will then swing downwardly by gravity until stop lugs 134 come in contact with stop pins 135.

The bottles on conveyor belt links 167 will remain in the position shown in Fig. 2 during the period of time when the table lowering arms 122 and 123 are being raised to receive another series of bottles. When the arms 122 and 123 start downwardly the arm 122 carries with it arm 176, and the end 174 of chain 169. Downward movement of the end 174 of chain 169 causes the rotation of sprocket 162 and the pawl carrying disc 165. The rotation of pawl carrying disc 16o is in a counter-clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 9, and the gravity operated pawls 161 drop into notches 159 of ratchet 'of a curved light reecting plate 182, and the bottles may be inspected by the operator when bottles are on the removing conveyor belt before the belt is moved. The bottles remain on removing conveyor belt for the period of time while the table lowering arms are moving upwardly, and until they start moving downwardly.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modication without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Bottle handling mechanism comprising conveying means and bottle carrying cups mounted on said conveying means, means for guiding said conveying means through a semicircular path, means for retaining bottles in said cups during the movement of the conveying "means and bottle carrying cups through the semi-circular path, roller means adjacent the end of said retaining means for receiving bottles from said retaining means being adapted through rotation to bring said bottles into a vertical position, means for rotating said roller means, and a vertically movable table adjacent said roller means and adapted in one position for moving said table, and means for removing bottles from said table, said last mentioned means being under the control of the means for moving said table.

3. Bottle Washing mechanism comprising conveying means and bottle carrying oups mounted on said conveying means, means for guiding said` conveying means through a substantially semicircular path, means for retaining bottles in said cup during the movement of the conveying means and bottle carrying cups through their semi-circular path, roller means adjacent the end of said retaining means for receiving bottles in an inclined position from said retaining means, means for rotating said roller means so as to bring said bottles from an inclined positien in which they are received from said retaining means to a vertical position, a vertically movable table adapted to be moved into position adjacent said roller means so as to receive bottles from said roller means, said roller means also being adapted through rotation at a relatively high rate of speed to cause vibration and consequent loosening of bottles in their cups, and means for moving said table in a vertical path to receive bottles directly from said cups.

4. Bottle washing mechanism comprising conveying means and bottle carrying cups mounted on said conveying means, means for guiding sai-d conveying means through a substantially semi-circular path, means for retaining bottles in said cup during the movement of the conveying means and bottle carrying cups through their semi-circular path, roller means adjacent the end of said retaining means for receiving bottles in an inclined position from said retaining means, means for rotating said roller means so as to bring said bottles from an inclined position in which they are received from said retaining means to a vertical position, a vertically movable table adapted to be moved into position adjacent said roller means so as to receive bottles from said roller means, said roller means also being adapted through rotation at a relatively high rate of speed to cause vibration and consequent loosening of bottles in their cups, means for moving said table in a vertical path to receive bottles directly from said cups, and means for moving bottles from the upper horizontal face of said vertically movable table onto a cooperating conveyor unit.

' ROBERT J. WYNNE. 

